Employee of the Quarter - Q3, 2023
David Merlino
- Electronics Technician
- Eglin AFB, FL
- Supported pod loads on 699 aircraft sorties this quarter flown on F-16, F-15C, F-15E, and F-15EX aircraft, 99.7% Effective.
- Spearheaded all Eglin maintenance actions on 28 assigned P5 pods.
- Completed thorough Preventive Maintenance Inspections on 28 ninety day and 14 one eighty-day inspections resulting in only two non-effective P5 sorties for bad GNP-10 GPS Receivers that he subsequently repaired.
- Accomplished the PSTU Dual Voltage Power Supply 43D17-5-30-504 Time Compliance Technical Order on 2 Eglin Test Units, allows for the use of 120 or 220 VAC and provides an updated USB interface capability.
- Assisted in the repair of a faulty Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) at the Radio Transmitter A3 Site, he removed and replaced UPS ensuring a continuous source of power is provided to Eglin’s ACMI Radios.
- Received recognition in correspondence from the P5 SPO to ACC/A3AR for his repair of a damaged P5 End Cap from the SPO.
- “The shop was successful in repairing End Cap M01613, saved the AF ~ $16K in doing so! Kudo’s to them for their troubleshooting tenacity, repair thoroughness & expertise in making it happen!”
- Supported the P6 Program Office and Test Engineers with application of power to two P6 pods in the shop.
- Modified 3 USA (Universal Serial Adapter) adapters for use with the P6 pod and the PSTU, he added a jumper wire to provide a grounding source to test for both F-15 and F-16 applications.
- Instrumental in the validation of new P5v2 Hanger Shoe replacement procedure for the P5 Airborne Subsystem’s Tech Data 43D17-5-19-1 with P5 SPO and DRS Engineers
- Provided critical feedback in the use of a new tool developed by DRS to perform post installation Torque Test.
- Coordinated with Wing COMSEC to obtain the needed keying material for the F-35 CSF-34 decryption device.
- Milestone achieved he accomplished keying procedure on CSF-34 allowing the first ever tracking of F-35 Internal P5 Subsystem for the 58th and 60th Fighter Squadrons at Eglin.
- Began a Self-study program to obtain his Comp TIA Security+ certificate.
- Received hands on P6 familiarization and maintenance training from P6 Test Engineers.